An exploration of the ways digital assets can be used and managed

DAM Blog Commentary: What About the User-base?

I agree that governance, executive buy-in, and complying with the company’s mission are crucial factors to a DAM’s successful implementation. There has been much literature written about their importance.

However, one important factor that isn’t discussed in Gourlay’s article is user involvement. How were employees engaged with developing the DAM? A new form of asset organization must not be imposed on the workers, but integrated into their workflow. In some cases, a DAM will lead to workflow improvements, though these cases will involve getting employees to join in. Otherwise much time will be squandered adapting or grappling with any shift in the company’s system.

Did all of the stakeholders assist in creating a uniform Taxonomy that has been translated into silo- or country-specific terms. Without adapting keywords, tags, etc. employees in other countries or even in different departments will become confused. For example, A 3-D wireframe of Mr. Potato Head may be called something different in India than in England, or a marketing manager in Mexico will refer to the asset differently than a 3-D Maya artist in Los Angeles.

Faith Robinson’s implies that the various stakeholders will need to agree on a complimentary workflow. This is undoubtedly true, though the article chooses to avoid some of the interesting challenges that the internationalization of a DAM system presents. I am confident that Ms. Robinson is addressing these issues in innovative ways, though readers would have benefitted from hearing about them in this blog post.